DISASTER

Shortly before Typhoon Haiyan entered the Philippine area of responsibility on November 6, PAGASA raised Public Storm Warning Signal (PSWS) No. 1, the lowest of four levels, for much of the Visayas and Mindanao. As the storm continued to approach the country, warnings expanded into Luzon and increased in severity for eastern areas. By the evening of November 7, PSWS No. 4, the highest level of warning which indicates winds in excess of 185 km/h (115 mph) are expected, was raised for Biliran Island, Eastern Samar, Leyte, northern Cebu, Samar, and Southern Leyte. Through November 8, the coverage of PSWS No. 4 continued to expand, with areas in southern Luzon being included.

Officials placed police officers in the Bicol Region ahead of the storm. In the provinces of Samar and Leyte, classes were canceled, and residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas were required to evacuate. Some of the storm-threatened areas were affected by an earlier earthquake in Bohol. The Philippine President requested the military to deploy planes and helicopters to the region expected to be affected. As Haiyan was moving very fast, PAGASA issued warnings at different levels to about 60 of the 80 provinces, including the capital Metro Manila. On November 8, the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was activated, providing widespread charitable satellite coverage to relief organizations.

The 2013 Bohol earthquake occurred on October 15, 2013, at 8:12 a.m. (PST) in Bohol, an island province located in Central Visayas, Philippines. The magnitude of the earthquake at the epicenter was recorded at Mw 7.2, located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) SW of Sagbayan town, at a depth of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). It affected the whole Central Visayas region, particularly Bohol and Cebu. The quake was felt in the whole Visayas area and as far as Masbate island in the north and Cotabato provinces in southern Mindanao.

According to official reports by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 222 were reported dead, 8 were missing, and 976 people were injured. In all, more than 73,000 structures were damaged, of which more than 14,500 were totally destroyed.

It was the deadliest earthquake in the Philippines in 23 years. The energy of the quake released was equivalent to 32 Hiroshima bombs. Previously, Bohol was also hit by an earthquake on February 8, 1990 that damaged several buildings and caused a tsunami.

On November 7, some 3 weeks after the quake, Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) struck the region. Although the storm’s eye missed the area affected by the earthquake, it sent some 40,000 Boholanos still living in temporary shelters back to evacuation centers and disrupted relief efforts in the province.